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Cyborg 009 (Manga)
Cyborg 009 is a manga series by Shotaro Ishinomori. It was first published on July 19, 1964, and concluded its regular serialization in 1981, with two brief further serializations occurring in 1985 and 1992. It was his first major success, with it introducing manga's first super-powered team. It is notable for its long and varied publication history, running through several magazines throughout its run, as well as detailing the effects of war and the relationships between people of different races. The manga was ultimately unfinished due to Ishinomori's death in 1998. However, the ending of the manga was eventually delivered in Cyborg 009: Conclusion GOD'S WAR, based on some of Ishinomori's concept ideas and drafts for a final arc that he had never had the chance to write out. This arc is an updating of the earlier and unfinished "Angel" and "Battle with the Gods" storylines that were both intended to serve the same purpose; as the cyborgs' longest and final battle. The manga stands at a total of 36 volumes. Adding the 5 volumes of Conclusion GOD'S WAR completed in 2014, the manga has a total of 41 volumes and has taken 50 years to complete. Story Black Ghost, a terrorist organization bent on starting another World War in order to profit from it, has developed cyborg soldiers to aid in their plans for domination on Earth and in outer space. However, the first nine cyborgs to be developed wind up rebelling against Black Ghost's plans and escape, along with the scientist Isaac Gilmore. These cyborgs, lead by their most advanced model 009, fight against Black Ghost and their attempts to not only kill them but provide warring nations with highly advanced weapons that would cause certain annihilation. After many battles, the Cyborgs confront Black Ghost in the Underground Empire of Yomi for a final showdown. 009 finds himself transported inside a giant statue to fight Black Ghost's figurehead leader Skull, along with his controllers (a set of three brains). With the destruction of Black Ghost, he and the other 00 Cyborgs confront other threats to the world, ranging from terrorists to supernatural beings. Eventually, a new Black Ghost organization rises, and the team are called back to fight against them, along with experiencing more supernatural encounters. Serialization History Weekly Shonen King (Shonen Gahosha, 1964-1965) The series commenced in July 1964's issue 30 with the Birth arc, detailing the origin of 009 and the escape of the cyborgs. The Assassins '''arc, '''Deep Sea Wanderer (also known as "Wandering"), and Vietnam arcs soon followed, along with Mythos. However, during the run of Mythos , a new editor-in-chief was hired for the magazine and Ishinomori ran into trouble with the editorial department. He was told that the manga would be cancelled soon, the editors citing that the arc was too "confusing" for children to follow with its themes and multiple characters. The Mythos arc was thus wrapped up in 1965, with a rushed ending that left the 00 cyborgs' fates uncertain (although this ending was also slightly extended for the volume collections, depicting a battle between 001 and the villain Woman Esper). Ishinomori would write one last story for Weekly Shonen King in the following year, "The Man in the Expensive Castle". This incorporated the change of turning 007 into a young child, which was done to tie into the animated film adaptation that had been released. When the'' Birth'' arc was collected into volume edition, the origins for the other cyborgs that were drawn in the second serialization (see below) were included, along with a prologue explaining the Black Ghost organization. Separate Shonen King (Shonen Gahosha, 1965-1966) While the manga was still running regularly in Weekly Shonen King, Separate Shonen King first ran a special story in January 1965 titled Prologue, which told of the first eight cyborgs' origins. The stories''' Empty War, The Aurora Strategy, The Phantom Dog', and '''The Golden Lion' followed. All of these stories ran under the title "Cyborg Soldier". The first story was excluded from some reprints and not considered canon, presumably due to the story having the cyborgs go into space (which would lessen the impact of developments in the Yomi arc). The latter three stories were also published after the Mythos arc had ended, with the 00 team splitting off. In collected editions, "The Phantom Dog" and "The Golden Lion" are placed after the Mythos arc, while "The Aurora Strategy" is usually placed before the Wandering arc, with several textual (and visual) alterations made in an attempt to fit it there. Weekly Shonen Magazine (Kodansha, 1966-1967) Ishinomori continued the series as a regular feature in 1966's issue 27, having to re-introduce the cyborg team with a retconned version of their origin. A few issues later with #30, The Underground Empire of Yomi arc commenced. At the time, Ishinomori had avoided references to the Mythos arc and its canon status was deemed questionable due to the lack of its mention in articles for the series, although he had expressed an idea of possibly rewriting it someday. The Yomi ''arc ended in March 1967, and was intended to be the final storyline. However, due to controversy and emotional outcry over the ending to the arc (which had the presumed deaths of 009 and 002), Ishinomori was soon convinced to resume the manga and retcon the ending, after it moved to the next magazine. By Ishinomori's intent, the prologue to the arc is not meant to be seen as canon, due to some of the changes he was made to incorporate for the ease of film viewers that were starting to read the manga (particularly 007 being seen as a child). However, some elements of the prologue do resonate in canon, such as the events in Yomi taking place four years after the team members had become cyborgs, and Joe having become a racer in the present day. Thunder and Lightning (A New Type of Bomb) (Kodansha, 1966) In Kodansha's "Separate Shonen Magazine", Ishinomori rewrote and retold "Empty War". It was presumed that he may have been unhappy with the original telling, although the new story wound up becoming an amalgam of "Empty War" and "The Man in the Expensive Castle" due to Ishinomori recycling artwork from both (due to a possible deadline issue). This also leads to 007 being briefly seen in his child form. This version was also not intended to be seen as canon, likely due to it relying on recycling artwork and dialogue. Some collected editions left out the chapter (along with "Empty War" and "The Man in the Expensive Castle") due to Ishinomori's intent. Later collected editions usually place this chapter in the middle of the Wandering arc, along with the two other non-canon stories. This may lead to confusion from new readers, particularly about the state of 007. Adventure King (Akita Shoten, 1967-1969) After the jump to Adventure King in May 1967, the '''Monster Island' arc commenced and included the aforementioned retcon of 009 and 002's fates. It was followed by The Middle East, Immigration, The Song of Lorelei, and The Bottom of the Sea. The Yomi prologue and "Thunder and Lightning" were also reprinted as special features during this publication time, with the latter being retitled "The Uwanaro Doctor Rescue Operation". In 1969, Ishinomori opted to end the manga once more with the Angel arc, but various difficulties lead him to leave off on a cliffhanger. The series was then dropped from Adventure King. COM (Mushi, 1969-1970) The Battle with the Gods arc began in October 1969, and was the next attempt at finishing the series. However, due to Ishinomori's writer's block, fan complaints, and other difficulties in continuing the story, this arc cut off on another cliffhanger. The series was then put on hiatus. Non-Canon One-Shots (1971-1972) In light of the complications of completing the series, Ishinomori opted to first write two one-shot stories, that were not intended to adhere to the greater canon of the series *"Cyborg 009 and the 300 Million Yen Criminal" (Medium One, January 1971) *"Dinosaur" (FunKinder TV, March 1972) Shojo Comic (Shogakukan, 1975-1976) Cyborg 009 ran as an occasional feature in the magazine through these two years, with a trilogy of stories focused on myths and mysterious female characters. *"The City of Wind" (1975, issue #38) *"The Snow Carnival" (1976, issue #8) *"Edda" (1976, issues #31 to #33) Further Short Stories (Various publishers, 1976-1978) The series continued to run for a few more brief stories through various magazines, with the series continuing its more experimental turn. *"Deinonychus" (Monthly Shonen Jump, Shueisha, June 1976) *"Green Hole" (Play, Akita Shoten, August 1976) *"Mysterious Star" (Adventure King, Akita Shoten, New Years' special 1977) *"Phantom Island" (Weekly Shonen Magazine, Kodansha, 1978 issue #2) Monthly Shonen Manga (Asahi Sonorama, 1977-1979) Ishinomori began another long arc, titled The Undersea Pyramid. However, it experienced a brief hiatus through the November to December 1978 issues. Weekly Shonen Sunday (Shogakukan, 1979-1981) The Neo Black Ghost arc commenced in March 1979, to tie into the recently-released anime. Taking place at least two decades after the cyborgs first met and occuring in the 1980s, the team members experienced a maturation in their characterization and outlook. This run also included several short stories focusing on each team member and their struggles. While Ishinomori oversaw a few early concepts of the 1979 anime and some elements were reflected in the manga (such as Gilmore's mansion, the existence of a "Neo Black Ghost", and the redesigned Dolphin), both versions diverged heavily from each other. Shortly before this relaunch, Ishinomori had written a story focused on "The Count of Saint-Germain", as an epilogue to the Undersea Pyramid arc. Shonen Big Comic (Shogakukan, 1979-1980) Other short stories in the "Neo Black Ghost" arc ran in a simultaneous serialization in this magazine, providing more focus on the individual team members. SF Animedia (Gakken, 1985-1986) Ishinomori briefly resumed the manga's serialization with The People Drifting Between Space and Time, revisiting the Immigration story. The Count of Saint-Germain reappeared in the arc, but with a modified appearance. Sankei Shimbun (New Years 1992) After the previous serialization, Ishinomori wrote one last one-shot for the New Years' celebration, titled Emergency Simulation 1992. The manga was officially put on hiatus afterwards. This one-shot is notable for displaying the cyborgs' reactions to the contemporary changes in their home countries (such as the reunification of Germany, the collapse of the Soviet Union, etc.), as well as a revised character design for 008. It was originally published in full color, although subsequent reprints have it rendered in grayscale. Other Related Stories Mini-comics (Asahi Sonorama, 1965-1968) Around this time, Ishinomori was contracted to draw a series of yearly, full-color short comics to go along with the vinyl record drama albums for Asahi Sonorama. Four stories came about as a result: *'Volcanic Island Shock Tactics' *'Attack the Ghost Island!' (loosely based off of the "Birth" arc) *'Monster Wars' (based off the film of the same name) *'The Confrontation of Antarctica' (loosely based off of "The Aurora Strategy") Although 007 appeared as an adult in the first story, his appearance was modified within the next three to comply with the film producers wanting him to be a child. Though these comics are not meant to be in continuity, they are included in some compilations due to their part in the history of the series. SF Roman: Cyborg 009 (Asahi Sonorama, 1978) A light novel was later commissioned by Asahi Sonorama. Although Ishinomori did not write the story for the novel (with Akiyoshi Sakai being at the helm instead), he did provide several full-color illustrations. It provided an alternate story for the cyborgs' early adventures, with the plot taking cues from both "The Underground Empire of Yomi" and the "Monster Wars" film. Non-009 Stories Later Included in Compilations (1978-1979) In 1978, in Ishinomori's other manga series "Peeping Through a Fusuma"", a chapter titled "Cyborg Soldier" was published. In the chapter, 004 makes a cameo as the titular soldier, and winds up maimed and killed in a fight against a mysterious alien being. Before he dies, he manages to encounter the main character of the series, and has a final conversation with him. This story is only intended as a nod to the Cyborg 009 series and not meant to be treated as applicable to its continuity, though it was still included in some later manga releases. In 1979, Ishinomori published the story "Barefoot Zanzibar" in Play Comic. The plot focused on a young African athlete that went by the name of "Zanzibar", and his struggles in his country. For some reason, Ishinomori decided to retcon the story into being part of the Cyborg 009 continuity when the 1979-1981 run was collected into tankoban format. A framing sequence was drawn, featuring 008 relating the story of Zanzibar to the rest of the team. Volume Releases Sunday Comics (Akita Shoten) *'Volume 1': Reprints the "Birth" and "Assassin" arcs. *'Volume 2': Reprints the rest of the "Assassin" arc, "Deep Sea Wanderer", and "The Aurora Strategy". *'Volume 3': Reprints the "Vietnam" arc, as well as the one-shots "The Phantom Dog" and "The Golden Lion". *'Volume 4': Reprints "Mythos". *'Volume 5' and Volume 6: Reprints "The Underground Empire of Yomi". *'Volume 7': Reprints "Thunder and Lightning (A New Type of Bomb)", "Monster Island", and "The Middle East". *'Volume 8': Reprints the rest of "The Middle East", along with the "Immigration" arc. *'Volume 9': Reprints the rest of "Immigration", "The Song of Lorelei", and "The Bottom of the Sea". *'Volume 10': Reprints the rest of "The Bottom of the Sea", along with "Angels". *'Volume 11': Reprints "Edda" and "The Snow Carnival". *'Volume 12': Reprints "The City of Wind", "Green Hole", "Deinonychus", and "Mysterious Star". *'Volumes 13' to 15: Reprint "The Undersea Pyramid" arc. Kodansha Full-Color Edition *'Volume 1': "Birth" *'Volume 2': "Assassin" *'Volume 3': "Vietnam", "The Phantom Dog" *'Volume 4': "Mythos" *'Volume 5': "Mythos", "The Golden Lion", "The Aurora Strategy", and "The Underground Empire of Yomi" *'Volumes 6 and 7': Reprint of the rest of "The Underground Empire of Yomi" Shogakukan Paperback *'Volume 1': "Birth" *'Volume 2': "Assassin" *'Volume 3': "Wandering", "The Aurora Strategy", "The Man in the Expensive Castle", and "Empty War" *'Volume 4': "Vietnam" *'Volume 5': "Mythos" *'Volumes 6 and 7': "The Underground Empire of Yomi" *'Volume 8': "Monster Island" *'Volume 9': "The Middle East", "The Song of Lorelei" *'Volume 10': "The Bottom of the Sea", "The Phantom Dog", and "Deinonychus" *'Volume 11': "Immigration", "The Golden Lion" *'Volume 12': "Edda", "Green Hole" *'Volume 13': "The City of Wind", "Mysterious Star", "Phantom Island", and "The Snow Carnival" *'Volumes 14 and 15': "The Undersea Pyramid" Shogakukan Shonen Sunday Edition ※ Includes comics where the 009 characters appear outside the actual series *'Volume 1': "Conan, the Giant of the North", "The Golden Triangle" *'Volume 2': "The Arctic Ghost", "Eyes and Ears", "Father and Son" *'Volume 3': "Aztec", "Sargasso Sea", "The Kidnapping" *'Volume 4': "The City of the Future" (Computopia), "The Glacier of Love", "Clockwork Heart" *'Volume 5': "Ishtar's Dragon", "Blood Spirit", "Cyborg Soldiers, For Whom Do You Fight?" *'Volume 6': "Barefoot Zanzibar"※ , "A Machine's Machinery", "The Frozen Autumn", "Passing Shot" *'Volume 7': "Cosmo Child" *'Volume 8': "The Legend of the Star Mermaid", "The Frozen Time" *'Volume 9' : "Aphrodite", "The Strange Star Flower", "Pharaoh Virus" *'Volume 10': "The Night of the Star Festival", "Fountain of the Water Spirits", "Farewell, Nessie", "The Modern Narcissus", "Rainy Days on the Yamanote Line", "The Dolphin and the Boy" *'Volume 11': "Deep Space" *'Volume 12': "Baby Poppins", "The Diary of Chang Changku's Struggling Restaurant", "The Red Shoes", "The Seven Children", "Invisible Strings", "Vision of a Butterfly", "Phantom Island", "Metamorphosis" Akita Shoten Deluxe Edition ※ Includes comics where the 009 characters appear outside the actual series *'Volume 1': "Edda, "Green Hole", "Mysterious Star", "Deinonychus" *'Volume 2': "The City of Wind", "The Snow Carnival", "The Bottom of the Sea", "A Phantom Dog" *'Volumes 3 and 4': "The Undersea Pyramid", "The Count of Saint-Germain" *'Volume 5': "Birth", "Assassin" *'Volume 6': "Assassin", "Wandering", "The Aurora Strategy" *'Volume 7': "Vietnam", "Mythos" *'Volume 8': "Mythos", "The Song of Lorelei" *'Volume 9': "The Underground Empire of Yomi" *'Volume 10': "The Underground Empire of Yomi", "The Golden Lion", "Thunder and Lightning (A New Type of Bomb)" *'Volume 11': "Monster Island", "Middle East" *'Volume 12': "Immigration", "Empty War", "The Glacier of Love" *'Volume 13': "The Golden Triangle", "Sargasso Sea", "Aphrodite" *'Volume 14': "Cosmo Child", "The Strange Star Flower", "The Night of the Star Festival", "A Machine's Machinery" *'Volume 15': "Ishtar's Dragon", "Aztec", "The Frozen Time" *'Volume 16': "Conan, the Giant of the North", "Arctic Ghost", "The Frozen Autumn", "Eyes and Ears", "Blood Spirit", "Invisible Strings" *'Volume 17': "Deep Space", "Farewell, Nessie", "The Dolphin and the Boy", "The Red Shoes", "Vision of a Butterfly" *'Volume 18': "The Legend of the Star Mermaid", "The Modern Narcissus", "Rainy Days on the Yamanote Line", "The Diary of Chang Changku's Struggling Restaurant", "The Seven Children", "Metamorphosis" *'Volume 19': "The People Drifting Between Space and Time", "Clockwork Heart", "Phantom Island" *'Volume 20': "The City of the Future", "Pharaoh Virus", "Fountain of the Water Spirits", "Father and Son", "The Kidnapping" *'Volume 21': "Battle with the Gods", "Cyborg Soldiers, For Whom Do You Fight?", "Passing Shot" *'Volume 22': "Hepatica Symphony", "Baby Poppins", "At the Zoo", "Go for it, Big Brother!", "Man in the Expensive Castle", "The Cyborg Soldier" (From the series "Peeping Through a Fusuma")※, "Barefoot Zanzibar"※, "Emergency Simulation 1992" *'Volume 23': "Angel", "Cyborg 009: SF Roman" (Light novel by Akiyoshi Sakai, illustrations by Shotaro Ishinomori) Media Factory "Shotaro World" Edition ※ Includes comics where the 009 characters appear outside the actual series *'Volume 1': "Birth" *'Volume 2': "Assassin" *'Volume 3': "Wandering", "The Aurora Strategy", "The Man in the Expensive Castle", "Empty War", "Thunder and Lightning (A New Type of Bomb") *'Volume 4': "Vietnam", "The Golden Lion", "A Phantom Dog" *'Volume 5': "Mythos" *'Volumes 6 and 7': "The Underground Empire of Yomi" *'Volume 8': "Monster Island", "Middle East", "Volcanic Island Shock Tactics"※ *'Volume 9': The rest of "Middle East", "Immigration", "Attack the Ghost Island!"※ *'Volume 10': The rest of "Immigration", "The Song of Lorelei", "The Bottom of the Sea", "Monster Wars"※ *'Volume 11': "The Confrontation in Antarctica"※, the rest of "The Bottom of the Sea", "Angel" *'Volume 12': "The Battle with the Gods", "The Battle with the Gods: The Struggle on the Island" (unfinished light novel excerpt) *'Volume 13': "The City of Wind", "Edda", "Cyborg 009 vs. the 300 Million Yen Criminal", "Dinosaur" *'Volume 14': "The Snow Carnival", "Deinonychus", "Phantom Island", "Green Hole", "Mysterious Star" *'Volumes 15 and 16': "The Undersea Pyramid" *'Volume 17': "Conan, the Giant of the North", "Golden Triangle", "Sargasso Sea" *'Volume 18': "The Arctic Ghost", "Glacier of Love", "A Machine's Machinery", "Eyes and Ears" *'Volume 19': "Aztec", "The Frozen Autumn", "The Kidnapping" *'Volume 20': "The City of the Future", "Passing Shot", "Blood Spirit", "Father and Son" *'Volume 21': "Barefoot Zanzibar"※, "The Strange Star Flower", "Baby Poppins", "Go for it, Big Brother!", "The Cyborg Soldier" ("Peeping Through a Fusuma")※ *'Volume 22': "Ishtar's Dragon", "Frozen Time", "Fountain of the Water Spirits", "Clockwork Heart" *'Volume 23': "Pharaoh Virus", "Cyborg Soldiers, From Whom Do You Fight?", "The Diary of Chang Changku's Struggling Restaurant", "The Red Shoes", "Farewell, Nessie", "Hepatica Symphony", "At the Zoo" *'Volume 24': "Cosmo Child", "The Modern Narcissus" *'Volume 25': "The Night of the Star Festival", "Aphrodite", "The Seven Children", "Invisible Strings", "Rainy Days on the Yamanote Line", "Vision of a Butterfly" *'Volume 26': "Legend of the Star Mermaid", "The Dolphin and the Boy", "Metamorphosis" *'Volume 27': "Emergency Simulation 1992", "Deep Space" *'Volume 28': "The People Drifting Between Space and Time" Media Factory "MF Comics" Edition ※ Includes comics where the 009 characters appear outside the actual series *'Volume 1': "Birth" *'Volume 2': The rest of "Birth", "Assassin" *'Volume 3': "Assassin", "The Aurora Strategy", "Wandering", "The Man in the Expensive Castle" *'Volume 4': "Empty War", "Thunder and Lightning (A New Type of Bomb)", the rest of "Wandering", and "Vietnam" *'Volume 5': The rest of "Vietnam" *'Volume 6': "Mythos" *'Volume 7': The rest of "Mythos", "The Golden Lion", and "A Phantom Dog" *'Volumes 8, 9, and 10': "The Underground Empire of Yomi" *'Volume 11': "Monster Island", "Middle East" *'Volume 12': The rest of "Middle East", "Immigration" *'Volume 13': "Immigration", "The Song of Lorelei" *'Volume 14': "The Bottom of the Sea", "Angel" *'Volume 15': The rest of "Angel", "Battle with the Gods" *'Volume 16': The rest of "Battle with the Gods" *'Volume 17': "The City of Wind", "Edda" *'Volume 18': "The Snow Carnival", "Deinonychus", "Phantom Island", "Green Hole", "Cyborg 009 and the 300 Million Yen Criminal", "Dinosaur" *'Volumes 19, 20, and 21': "The Undersea Pyramid" *'Volume 22': "Conan, the Giant of the North", "Golden Triangle" *'Volume 23': "Sargasso Sea", "Arctic Ghost", "The Glacier of Love" *'Volume 24': "A Machine's Machinery", "Eyes and Ears", "Aztec" *'Volume 25': "The Frozen Autumn", "The Kidnapping", "The City of the Future" *'Volume 26': "Passing Shot", "Blood Spirit", "Father and Son", "Barefoot Zanzibar"※ *'Volume 27': "The Strange Star Flower", "Ishtar's Dragon" *'Volume 28': "Baby Poppins", "Go for it, Big Brother!", "The Cyborg Soldier" ("Peeping Through a Fusuma")※, "Frozen Time", "Fountain of the Water Spirits", "Clockwork Heart" *'Volume 29': "Pharaoh Virus", "Cyborg Soldiers, For Whom Do You Fight?", "The Diary of Chang Changku's Struggling Restaurant", "The Red Shoes", "Farewell, Nessie", "Hepatica Symphony" *'Volume 30': "Cosmo Child" *'Volume 31': "At the Zoo", "The Modern Narcissus", "Aphrodite", "The Seven Children" *'Volume 32': "Invisible Strings", "Rainy Days on the Yamanote Line", "The Night of the Star Festival", "Vision of a Butterfly", "The Dolphin and the Boy", "Metamorphosis" *'Volume 33': "The Legend of the Star Mermaid" *'Volume 34': "Deep Space" *'Volume 35': "Emergency Simulation 1992", "Mysterious Star", "The People Drifting Between Space and Time" *'Volume 36': The rest of "The People Drifting Between Space and Time" Kadokawa Shoten "Complete Works" Edition Fukkan Color Edition Reprints colored chapters from the '70s Kodansha release, along with including digitally colored pages *'Cyborg 009: 1964-1965': "Birth" and "Assassin" *'Cyborg 009: 1965': "Vietnam" and "Mythos" *'Cyborg 009: 1966-1967': "The Underground Empire of Yomi" *'Cyborg 009: 1965-1968': "A Phantom Dog", "Empty War", "The Aurora Strategy", "The Golden Lion", "The Man in the Expensive Castle", "Thunder and Lightning", "Monster Island", "The Middle East", "Volcanic Island Shock Tactics"※ *'Cyborg 009: 1968-1969': "Immigration", "The Song of Lorelei", "The Bottom of the Sea", "Attack the Ghost Island!"※, "Angel", "Monster Wars" ※, "Confrontation of Antarctica"※ *'Cyborg 009: 1969-1977': "Battle with the Gods", "Cyborg 009 and the 300 Million Yen Criminal", "Dinosaur", "The City of Wind", "The Snow Carnival", "Deinonychus", "Edda", "Green Hole", "Mysterious Star" Tokyopop Release (USA) Through 2003 to 2005, Tokyopop released 10 volumes of the series, covering the "Birth" to "Yomi" arcs. This release of the manga followed the chronology used in Media Factory's then-recent "MF Comics" re-release of the series. However, some continuity anomalies that existed in the Japanese tankoban releases were carried over, such as "The Man in the Expensive Castle" being placed in the middle of the Wandering arc (as opposed to after Mythos), and "Empty War" and "Thunder and Lightning" also being placed in that arc. This translation of the manga left most sound effects untranslated, and also contained numerous translation errors and significant liberties with the dialogue. After Comixology gained distribution rights to the Ishinomori catalogue in 2012, these ten volumes were re-released with new covers, while keeping the old Tokyopop translation. Tokyopop Changes * 0012 and The Woman Esper (who would later be christened "Hera" in the 2001 anime) were mistakenly misgendered with male pronouns. Kubikuro was also initially referred to with female pronouns, with the gender suddenly being corrected mid-chapter. * "From Here to Eternity" was mistranslated as "From Surface to Deep Freeze". * 002's line of "God, I'm praying to you for the first time..." was altered to be "Luck, if I ever needed you, it's right NOW!" * The final stretch of dialogue between 002 and 009 was altered considerably. In particular, the team members never referred to each other by their given names in the original text for the early arcs (aside from 003 briefly referring to 009 as "Joe"), but Tokyopop would sometimes substitute the given names for the numbers. This leads to 002 and 009 speaking each others' names before the moment where they were ultimately supposed to do so. * Skull had his name translated as "Scar", the Zattan became the "Zartan", and Van Vogt became "Ban Bogart" before later being corrected to "Van Bogart" mid-arc. * During the Yomi arc, 004 reminisces about the death of Hilda. In the original text, he explains that after the accident, a call came for Dr. Gilmore and the Black Ghost men took him (004) away to a laboratory, but that they didn't really help him at all. This monologue was altered in Tokyopop's adaptation to have 004 state that Dr. Gilmore contacted him, and that his heart had already been cold while Gilmore's men "helped the rest of me along". This may give the impression that 004's origin was retconned, if readers weren't aware of what the text was originally meant to state. * Various dialogue was shifted around, with some lines turned into jokes, some existing jokes removed, and other lines completely altered in meaning. One notable change included 002's gang members cheering him on (yelling things such as "Get him! Get him!") being changed to them calling the Shark leader a "spic" and his friends "PRs". * 004's final speech at the end of the Yomi arc was also considerably altered. Originally, he was quoting from the Japanese translation of "Exodus", concluding his speech with the line "“Why must we fight for the right to live, over and over, each time the sun rises?". He then laughs and admits that those weren't even his words, but that he was quoting from a guy in his favorite novel. The speech seemed to be altered to a more generic lament of their battle and origins. Retcons and Revisions Throughout the manga's publication history, different retcons and changes were employed: * The team's origin was rewritten in the prologue to the Yomi arc; however, Ishinomori himself did not consider this to apply to canon. Within the rewritten version, 007 is depicted as a child. * 009 originally had the name of "Joe Muramatsu" in early chapters of the Weekly Shonen King serialization, however, later reprints corrected any instances of "Muramatsu" to "Shimamura", to keep consistency with later chapters. * 003 did not initially have her given name stated and was simply referred to as "Arnoul" by her brother. This was corrected and revised with reprints. * 004 was only referred to as "Heinrich" in the initial arcs either due to Ishinomori using Japanese formalities or having not yet decided on his full name. Tokyopop's edition attempts to correct this by having Hilda refer to him as "Albert" in his origin sequence. The later releases of the Yomi arc (such as the MF Comics edition) also edit in his given name, when he reveals his name to Vena. * The first version of "The Autora Strategy" originally took place with the team being on a trip in England, but Ishinomori revised the text to have it take place in Yokohama, which carried over to all subsequent printings. A panel depicting the Thames River was removed, and other artwork alterations were made. * The young girl in "The Aurora Strategy" story was originally named "Iruka", however, the most recent printings have her name revised to be "Cynthia". This is likely due to the fact that "Iruka Dolphin" would have been a redundant name, as "iruka" is Japanese for "dolphin". * As mentioned previously, 009 and 002 were intended to have died at the end of the Underground Empire arc. Fan demand necessitated the retcon seen in the Monster Island arc, where 009 narrates that 001 rescued them from burning up with his teleportation power. However, he then adds that he and 002 were left comatose and needing to be remodeled due to damage they received from re-entering the atmosphere, and that 001 himself fell into a deep sleep from using up so much of his energy. * The team originally wore green uniforms in the "Birth" and "Assassins" arcs, as seen in early Weekly Shonen King cover artwork. The uniforms' color schemes were changed during the Vietnam arc in 1965, so that the team would be wearing red. When it came time to do the deluxe color release of the manga in the 1970s, Ishinomori depicted their uniforms as red in the earlier arcs to keep consistency. The uniforms also appeared as red in the color pages for the Aurora story. * 008 originally did not have a home country specified, with him simply noted to be from "Africa". However, by the time of Emergency Simulation 1992, Ishinomori decided upon him being from Kenya. While this creates some oddities and discrepancy with his initial backstory involving him being sold into slavery (when Kenya had become independent by 1964), it is to be noted that later chapters of the manga and the '79 anime adaptation put more focus on Pyunma being a resistance fighter for his country. Gallery Tokyopop cover.jpg|Cover of the Volume 1 Tokyopop print Digital_cover.png|Cover for the Comixology digital print External Links *http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B0009 *http://www.comixology.com/Cyborg-009/comics-series/9119 Category:Comics/Manga